35 Years of VPPPA

Our story began in 1984 when OSHA first hosted a meeting for Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) site participants to network, gather and share the benefits of involvement in the VPP program. Unfortunately, the next year OSHA was unable to host a meeting for the group. Realizing the significance of the VPP meeting, two companies, Georgia Power and Mobil Chemical, took it upon themselves to sponsor the meeting instead. During this gathering, the attending participants decided to form an association that would provide support for companies participating in VPP. Ronald R. Amerson from Georgia Power was elected as the founding chair of the association.

35 years later and VPPPA has continued to be a leader in safety and health excellence with an ever-growing network of member sites and industry professionals. To read more about the history of VPPPA check out our timeline.

Our Celebration

It’s VPPPA’s 35th birthday. We’re celebrating by giving away birthday gifts ALL year long and hosting a birthday party at the 2019 Safety+ Symposium in New Orleans, LA, August 27-30. Stay tuned as we will be giving away two new prizes each month.

Answer this VPPPA trivia question correctly and you will be entered to win an Amazon Echo!

Q. When was the first VPP site approved? (Hint: check out this page on OSHA's website.)

Contestants have until Friday, March 29, 2019 at 3pm EST, to answer this question. The winner will be notified on Monday, April 1, 2019, via email. A new question will be posted the week of April 1, 2019.

The Top Song was Like A Virgin by Madonna. Other influential songs included: White Horse by Laid Back, Better Be Good to Me by Tina Turner, Jam on It by Newcleus and Thriller by Michael Jackson

The Top Movies included Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, Indiana Jones and Gremlins

US Life Expectancy: Males: 71.1 years, Females: 78.2 years

Notable books include: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay and What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Arlene Eisenberg & Heidi Murkoff

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1984: $368,000

DNA fingerprinting was introduced.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in comic books. In 1987, the first TMNT cartoons appeared.

The World Population was ~4,726,000,000

In 1984 women earned 37% of computer science degrees. In 1998, women were at 27%. In 2011, only 12% of CS degrees went to women.

During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, McDonald's "If the US wins, you win!" campaign for free food when USA wins a medal, causing big financial losses because team USA won more medals than expected, due to many Soviet countries boycotting the Olympics.

"Baby on Board" signs were marketed by their creator, Micheal Lerner.

In July of 1984 President Ronald Reagan called ice cream "a nutritious and wholesome food" and established National Ice Cream Month.

Bill Murray is thought to have coined the modern use of the phrase "you're toast" by adlibbing a line in Ghost Busters.